Bridge dictionary

"Triggering" bid

Slam try

Bid making your partner believe that a slam is possible.

5-card major

To hold at least 5 cards in Hearts or 5 cards in Spades in your hand.

Aggressive

Active defence play, Aggressive player

Said of a player who bids readily (enterprising style: bids where others would pass with the same hand). Also said of an active defense in an emergency situation.

Attitude Signal

Low Encourage

Defensive signal showing interest (or not) in the suit led. Playing a low card usually shows encouragement.

Auto-forcing

The player who makes such a bid commits to not passing over partner's next bid if game has not been reached and neither opponent has overcalled.

Balanced

Balanced hand, Balanced hands

A hand is said to be balanced when it includes at the most one doubleton without a singleton or a void.

Balanced hand

Balanced hands

A hand is said to be balanced when it includes at most one doubleton without a singleton or a void.

Balancing bid

Bid made after two passes.

Bare suit

bare

Having only one card (singleton) in a suit. Can also be said of cards: "to have a bare King" means to have only the King in the suit.

Baron

Bidding convention consisting of naming your long suits in suit ranking order (Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades).

Bath Coup

Technique used by declarer consisting of ducking a King lead in a no-trump contract with a holding such as Ace and Jack to make leader play into his tenace again.

Be out (of)

To have no cards left in a suit.

Better minor

Bid made in the following conditions:
- 1st bid made at the table.
- In minor suits, i.e. Diamonds or Clubs.
- In the longest suit (in which you hold the highest number of cards) among the two minors.
If the minors are of equal length, you bid 1 Club with 3 cards in Clubs and 3 cards in Diamonds. Otherwise, you bid 1 Diamond.

Bid

Anglo-Saxon term.

Blackwood

Conventional bid of 4NT asking partner how many Aces they hold. Traditionally, the trump King is considered as an Ace.

Classic responses: 5♣ = 0 or 3 Aces; 5♦ = 1 or 4 Aces; 5♥ or 5♠ = 2 Aces.
The difference between 5♥ and 5♠ comes from the trump Queen: 5♠ = 2 Aces with the trump Queen, while 5♥ = 2 Aces denying it.

Blocking

When a suit cannot be fully run between declarer and dummy because of card rank.
Example: dummy holds Ace and Queen. Declarer holds King, 3 and 2. You cannot directly take 3 tricks in that suit. The suit is said to be blocked.

Board-a-Match

BAM

Scoring format where each board is worth 2 points (2 for a win, 0 for a loss, 1 each for a tie).

Bonus

Bonus points

When you make a contract, in addition to the points you score for won tricks, you can also score bonus points. 50 points are awarded for a part-score, 300 or 500 points for a game, 800 or 1,250 points for a small slam, 1,300 or 2,000 points for a grand slam.

Call

Calls, Bidding, Bids, Bidding sequence, Auction

Process with the aim of determining the final contract using bids. Together, the bids of a deal are called the bidding sequence or auction.

Card play

Refers to the part of the game after the auction, when players play their 13 cards.

Cash

To play your master cards.

Ceiling

Maximum strength held by both players of a pair. It is calculated by adding your points and the maximum number of points that partner can possibly hold.

Column

IMP scoring

Expression meaning “to score for the team”: “to put points in the column.”

Communication

Communications, Entry, Entries

Cards allowing you to switch from one hand to another (within your pair).

Contract

Commitment by declarer to win a specific number of tricks indicated in the final bid at the end of the auction. The final contract for a given deal is determined after 3 Passes. Example: after 1NT - Pass - 3NT - Pass - Pass - Pass, the contract is 3NT and the opener of the 1NT bid becomes declarer.

Control

Controls

Guarding a suit through honours (when you hold the Ace or the King) or through shortness (when you hold a singleton or a void).

Control bid

Control

Bid in a suit telling your partner that you won't lose two immediate tricks in that suit.

Convention

Conventions

Bid allowing you to give a precise meaning to it after agreement with partner. May also refer to a card-play convention in defence which has a meaning agreed with one's partner.

Convert (to)

The action of passing over a take-out double in order to score a penalty when you have strong opposition in the trump suit.

Correct (to)

To bid the suit promised by partner. Correction is not always mandatory.

Count

The count of a suit shows whether the number of cards in a suit is even or odd.

Cover

To play a higher honour over the honour presented by an opponent, most of the time in order to establish one of your own honours or one of the honours you hope your partner holds.

Cover card

Master card placed opposite a loser.

Crossruff

Declarer’s plan alternating ruffs in both hands to create trump tricks.

Cue-bid

To cue-bid is to bid an opponent's suit. The aim is often to look for a stopper in that suit in order to play in no-trump or to show a strong hand.

Deal

Distribution of the 52 cards of the card deck to form the four players' hands. A deal also refers to related distribution, bidding and card play as a whole.

Dealer

The player who distributes the cards. He is the first allowed to bid.

Declarer

The player who was the first to bid the strain of the final contract played by his pair. He therefore plays both his cards and those of the dummy sitting across from him.

Defence

The defence is the pair of players playing in defence.

Discarding

Discard, Discards

The action of following with a card of another suit than the requested one when you have no cards left in that suit.

Distribution points

These are points added to high card points when a fit other than no-trump is known to be held between the two players in a pair. It is then considered that a void is worth 3 points, a singleton 2 points, a doubleton 1 point, the 9th trump 2 points and each trump from the 10th onwards is worth 1 point. Of course, if you have a fit with your partner but you only have 1 trump for example, it will be difficult for you to ruff and, as a result, taking distribution points for your short suits into account is not appropriate.

Double

Take-out double, Doubles, Penalty double, Penalty

A call over an opponent's bid which increases the scoring value of the contract made or defeated. It takes a take-out or penalty meaning depending on the situation. A take-out double asks partner to bid one of the unnamed suits. A penalty double or punitive double asks partner to pass because you think you can defeat the opponents' contract. The double bid is symbolised by a white cross on a red background.

Doubleton

"To hold a doubleton" means to have only two cards in that suit.

Drive out

Also "to draw out". The action of continuing to play a suit so that opponent plays an honour, allowing you to establish yours.

Drury

After partner opens 1♥/1♠ in third or fourth seat, a response of 2♣ shows a fit with a maximum passed hand.

Duck

Also "to hold off". Technique consisting of keeping hold of a control in order to break communications between the two players of the opposing pair.

Dummy

Declarer's partner. "Dummy" also refers to the cards of declarer's partner, which are laid on the table once the opening lead has been played.

Elimination and Throw-in

Technique where the defender is forced to lead into declarer’s favorable suit.

Entry

When you play in defence, it is a card which will allow you to regain the lead later. A well-positioned King or an Ace are typical entries.

Establish

Establishment

Playing several rounds of a suit to draw out the opponents' cards so that you can take length tricks in that suit, or playing an honour to draw out a higher honour before taking one or several tricks in the suit.

Exclusion Blackwood

Variant of Blackwood asking for Aces excluding one suit (usually where the bidder is void).

Falsecard

A deceptive card play to mislead the opponents.

Finesse

Technique consisting of playing a suit hoping for a specific positioning of opponents' cards, allowing you to take one or several extra tricks. This technique is never certain but can allow you to win a trick that you would never have won if you had not tried it.

Fit

Have a fit

Having at least eight cards of a suit between both hands of a pair. The two players are said to have a fit.

Fit-bid

Bid in a suit implicitly confirming the fit in the partner's suit.

Follow (suit)

To play a card of the requested suit.

Forcing

Bid after which partner is forced to rebid.

Forcing Pass

Artificial pass requiring partner to act again in a given sequence.

Forcing Pass Bid

A bid instructing partner to pass.

Fourth-best

4th-best

Lead convention mainly used in a no-trump contract where the opening lead is the 4th card (from the top) in a suit with no sequence.

Fourth-suit forcing

4th-suit forcing

When three different suits have been bid on the first three bids made by the same side, a bid in the fourth suit is artificial. It asks opener to give more details about his hand. Fourth-suit forcing requires at least 11 HCP.

Gambling

Gambling 3NT

Called Gambling 3NT. This bid shows a solid 7-card minor with no outside Ace or King.

Game

Games

To score a game at bridge, you need to take a certain number of tricks, depending on the suit in which the contract is played.
In notrump: from the 3 level (i.e. at least 9 tricks).
In a major suit: from the 4 level (i.e. at least 10 tricks).
In a minor suit: from the 5 level (i.e. at least 11 tricks).

Game Forcing

Agreement/sequence where the partnership commits to game level at minimum.

Game Points

Threshold of points required to reach game (25/27 contract points).

Goulash

Highly unbalanced distribution, often created by dealing in packets (4-4-4-1 style) without shuffling fully.

Hand

Hands

The 13 cards initially dealt to a player.

High-card points

This method of hand evaluation dates from the pre-war period and was invented by the Englishman Milton Work. It allows a player to determine a certain number of points for his hand. 4 points for the Ace, 3 points for the King, 2 points for the Queen and 1 point for the Jack. There are 10 high card points per suit and therefore 40 points per deck.

Hold off

Also "to duck". Technique consisting of keeping a control in order to break communications between the two players in the opposing pair.

Honour

Honours

There are 5 honours per suit: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10.

Jacoby transfer

Convention used after the 1NT or 2NT opening bid. This convention consists of bidding 2 Diamonds or 2 Hearts (3 Diamonds or 3 Hearts over 2NT) to show 5 cards in Hearts or Spades. In theory, opener corrects the Jacoby transfer. This convention allows responder to describe both weak, intermediate and strong hands.

Jump

Bid made at a level higher than necessary.

Jump rebid

Jump-rebidding a suit means bidding a suit that you could name at the level below.

Kibitzer

Spectator of a game.

Knock-Out (KO)

Direct elimination stage of competition: loser is out.

Landy

Defense to 1NT opening: 2♣ shows both majors.

Lavinthal

Lavinthal discard, Suit Preference

Discard asking partner to shift to a specific suit.

Law of Total Tricks

Vernes’ Law

Principle that the total number of tricks available equals the total number of trumps held by both sides.

Lead

First card played to a trick.

Leader

Leading

Once the contract has been chosen, this is the first person to play a card (always sitting to the left of declarer).

Length

Number of cards in a suit.

Length points

These are points added to high card points to refine hand evaluation in no-trump contracts. There is 1 additional point for a good 5-card suit and 2 for a good 6-card suit.

Level

Levels

Number of tricks beyond 6 to make in a contract. A contract at the 1 level will be made if the pair playing it takes at least 7 tricks.

Major

Refers to the Heart and Spade suits.

Master card

Master cards

Card with which you are sure to win the trick. It is therefore the highest remaining card in the suit played.

Match Points / IMPs

Match Points, IMPs

Scoring systems used in tournaments: IMPs (team of four), MPs (pairs).

Mess

Accident between the two players of the same pair leading to a bad contract or card play.

Michaels Cue-Bid

Convention where a cue-bid shows a specific two-suited hand (e.g., 5-5 in the majors).

Mini-maxi

A mini-maxi bid is a forcing bid showing either a weak hand or a strong hand.

Minimum rebid

Rebidding a suit at the minimum level means bidding the same suit twice at the lowest level.

Minimum strength

Minimum strength held by both players of a pair. It is calculated by adding your points and the minimum number of points that partner can possibly hold.

Minor

Refers to the Club and Diamond suits.

Misfit

Have a misfit

Having fewer than eight cards of the same suit between the two hands of a partnership. The two players are said to have a misfit.

Multi 2♦

Artificial opening at 2♦ that may represent multiple hand types (e.g., weak 6-card major, strong balanced hand).

Namyats

Convention consisting of changing the meaning of opening bids at the 4-level. 4C shows a 4H opening bid with maximum one loser in trumps. 4D shows a nice 4S opening bid. 4H and 4S show opening bids with a not-so-good suit.

Natural

To make a natural bid means to bid a suit in which you hold at least 4 cards.

Neutral

Refers to defence deemed to be risk-free.

Non-forcing

Refers to a bid that partner is allowed to pass.

Opener

The player making the first bid (other than Pass).

Opening

The first bid made other than Pass.

Opening lead

Opening leads

The first card played to the first trick, just after the end of the auction.

Opponent

Player on the opposing side; player in the pair you are playing against.

Overcall

Overcalled

Bid made when the other side has opened the bidding.

Overtake

To play a higher card than partner (usually an honour) so that he does not keep the lead.

Overtrick

Overtricks

Each extra trick won in addition to the contract bid by declarer's side.

Pairs tournament

Pairs event

This is a type of tournament in which the results of a pair are compared to all results of the pairs playing on the same side (North-South or East-West) at the table. MP (Matchpoint) ranking is used in such tournaments.

Part-score

Part-scores

All contracts inferior to game or slam, i.e. all contracts from 1C to 4D, except 3NT.

Partner

Player with whom you play against the other two players.

Pre-empt

Jump bid showing a long suit and few defensive tricks. As well as giving precise information to partner, it aims to prevent the opponents from finding their best contract.

Preference bid

Bid saying which suit you prefer when your partner has described two suits (a two-suiter) during the auction. It does not, however, mean that you have a fit.

Psychic Bid

Psychic

A deliberately misleading bid to attempt a swing (rare and risky).

Quantitative

Quantitative bid

Bid inviting partner to play a slam if he has a maximum hand.

Rebid

The opener’s second bid, clarifying the hand after partner’s response.

Redouble

Declaration over an opponent's double increasing the scoring value of contracts made or defeated.

The redouble bid is symbolised by two white crosses on a blue background.

May also be a “SOS Redouble”: explicit request for partner not to pass, but to escape to another contract.

Relay

Artificial bid asking partner to describe their hand further, without describing one’s own.

Responder

In an auction, it refers to opener's partner.

Reverse Finesse

A finesse taken in the “unnatural” direction, based on inference from bidding/play.

Revoke

Infraction: failing to follow suit while still holding a card in that suit.

Roudi and Checkback Stayman

Conventions used by responder when making his second bid after opener's 1NT rebid, in order to describe his hand.

Round Robin

Group Stage

Preliminary phase with all-play-all or pool matches to qualify.

Ruff

Ruffed, Overruff, Overruffed

Consists of playing a trump when you have no cards left in the suit played. It allows you to win the trick, except if you are overruffed, i.e. another player plays a trump higher than yours.

Segment

Match portions played over X boards.

Sequence

Top of a sequence

A sequence is a series of cards in the same suit. It differs depending on whether it is a no-trump or a suit contract.
- In a suit contract, a sequence is made up of two consecutive honours (10 and 9 are also considered a sequence).
- In a no-trump contract, you need three consecutive honours for a top-of-sequence lead but false sequences are also accepted. A 4-card sequence with one card missing is called a broken sequence.

Setting trick

Setting tricks

Each trick missing in declarer's side to win the contract bid.

Side

Two players forming a pair against two other players. Often called East-West side and North-South side.

Signal

Signals, Signal for

In some situations, to follow with a card which conventionally invites partner to play a specific suit, generally by following with a high card in that suit.

Single-suiter

Hand with at least a 6-card suit and without any other 4-card suit (6322, 6331, 7222, 7321, 7330, 8...).

Singleton

"To hold a singleton" means to only have one card in that suit.

Slam

Slams

Small slam: contract at the 6 level, i.e. 12 tricks.
Grand slam: contract at the 7 level, i.e. 13 tricks.

Smith Signal

At No-Trump, signal given on the second trick to show attitude toward the opening lead.

Splinter

Jump bid showing a shortage in the suit jumped into and a fit in the last suit bid by partner. Normally, you do not make a splinter bid in a suit in which you hold a bare Ace or King.

Squeeze

Technique where a defender is forced to discard a useful card.

Standard count

Odd-even

A signalling system consisting of showing an even number of cards by first playing a card higher than the next one (6, then 2 with 6 and 2 or with Jack, 7, 6 and 2 e.g.) or showing an odd number of cards by first playing the lowest card (2, then 6 with 8, 6 and 2 or with Jack, 8, 7, 6 and 2). These signals only apply to cases in which you have no interest in playing a high card at the trick in progress.

Stayman

Convention used after the 1NT opening bid to ask opener if he holds a 4-card major.

Stopper

Stop, Guard

Also "guards". Term used mostly in no-trump contracts. A card or card combination preventing opponents from taking all tricks in a suit on the opening lead.

Suit

Suits

The suits in a deck of cards are Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs. Therefore there are 13 cards per suit in a deck of 52 cards.

Suit-preference signal

Card showing partner which suit to return. It is mainly used when you give partner a ruff or when dummy has a singleton.

Switch (to)

When you play in defence and you gain the lead, it consists of not returning the suit led by partner.

Teams-of-four match

A type of tournament in which two teams of four players play one against one another. The North-South pair of table A is associated with the East-West pair of table B, whereas the deals are identical at both tables. The way score is calculated is different from a pairs tournament.

Tenace

To hold two out of three consecutive cards in a suit, the one missing being the middle one. Example: holding Ace and Queen without the King, or King and Jack without the Queen.

Third-suit forcing

3rd-suit forcing

After opener has repeated his opening suit, the next suit up is artificial when this is a new one. It asks opener to give more details about his hand. Third-suit forcing requires at least 10 HCP.

Three-suiter

Hand with at least 3 4-card suits (4441 or 5440).

To Pass

Pass, No bid

It means not bidding, doubling or redoubling when it is your turn during the auction and therefore "passing" with the "Pass" bid.

Top of nothing

[Mainly in France] Refers to a lead from a bad suit (without honours) when you play in a no-trump contract. With 2 or 3 cards, you lead the highest one. With 4 cards or more, you lead the second highest one.

Trial Bid

A 3-level bid (after a major fit is found) asking for help in a side suit to decide whether to bid game.

Trick

Tricks

A trick is made up of 4 played cards, one from each player at the table. The tricks taken by a pair allow the result of the contract to be determined at the end of the deal.

Trick points

All points scored by declarer's side to make the contract. They depend on the contract's trump suit. Clubs or Diamonds: 20 points per trick taken above six. Hearts or Spades: 30 points per trick taken above six. No-trumps: 40 points for the first trick, then 30 points for the following tricks. Bonus points have to be added to these points.

Tripleton

"To hold a tripleton" means to have three cards in that suit.

Trump

In a suit contract, trumps are the thirteen cards of that suit. When you don't hold any cards in the suit played, playing a trump (i.e. ruffing) allows you to win the trick.

Two-suiter

Jump two-suiter, Strong two-suiter, Economical two-suiter, Two-suiters

Two-suiter: distribution including at least one 5-card suit and one 4-card suit. Examples: 5422, 5431, 5521, 5530, 6421, 6430, etc.

Jump two-suiter: bid in a second suit which could be made at the lower level.

Strong two-suiter: bid in a second suit which forces partner to bid your first suit at the 3 level.

Economical two-suiter: bid in a second suit allowing partner to go back to the first one at the same level.

Unbalanced

Unbalanced hand, Unbalanced hands

A hand is said to be unbalanced when it includes one singleton, one void or at least two doubletons.

Unbalanced hand

Unbalanced hands

A hand is said to be unbalanced when it includes one singleton, one void or at least two doubletons.

Unbid suit

Unbid suits

During an auction, it refers to the suits which have not been bid yet.

Unblocking

Technique consisting in getting rid of the cards hindering communications.

Vienna Coup

Play where a vital entry is preserved to execute a squeeze later.

Void

"To be void" or "to have a void" means having no cards in that suit.

Vulnerability

The way bonus points or penalty points for setting tricks are awarded. When you are vulnerable, setting-trick penalties are higher but game and slam bonuses are higher too. Historically, in rubber bridge, a rubber was made of two winning games. It was then said that the side having already scored one game was vulnerable, while the side having not scored a game was not vulnerable. Vulnerability affects game and slam bonuses as well as the value of the setting tricks, whether they are undoubled, doubled or redoubled. In tournaments, each deal is independent. To recreate the conditions of a rubber, both sides are given a shadow vulnerability on each deal.

Weak Two

Opening at the 2-level showing a weak hand with a six-card suit.

XYZ

Convention used by responder to describe his hand when making his second bid, where the auction is still at the 1-level.